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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. cold — not warm
  3. suit — to fit
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — government
  6. pop — soda
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. pit — in a race
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pop — music
  15. suit — in cards
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. scale — in music
  18. suit — clothes
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pop — to visit
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. tear — to rip

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com